Don't Give Up
by Rory Maria
Summary: AU in which Chat Noir gives Marinette advice about her crush on Adrien.


"Hey, Marinette."

Startled, Marinette whirled around in her computer chair. Of course the smooth voice and flirtatious tone could only belong to one person: Chat Noir. Rolling her eyes at his smirk, Marinette crossed her arms as Chat chuckled to himself and flung gracefully through her window and onto her bed.

"Hey," Marinette greeted, turning back to the project she had previously been working on. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw Chat snuggle deeper into her bed, and couldn't help the small smile that stretched her lips. Sure, he was annoying at times, and way too flirty. But when she was Marinette, he was actually almost…sweet.

She saw him looking around her room, probably laughing at all of the pictures of Adrien that she had around. He'd for some reason found them hilarious the first time he actually noticed them, but Marinette couldn't fathom why. When Chat asked her about the many pictures and posters (and her computer background), Marinette had seen no harm in confiding in the black cat. It actually felt kind of nice to get a guy's perspective, even if that guy was Chat Noir.

"So, how are things coming along with Adrien?" Chat asked with a sparkle in his eyes that Marinette couldn't quite place.

Instantly, her mood dropped. She looked down at her sketch book where she'd absentmindedly started to doodle another picture of Adrien, and her stomach twisted. "They're not," she said plainly, closing her book.

"What do you mean?"

Marinette turned in her chair to face her bed, and saw that Chat had sat up, a concerned look on his face. He always seemed so invested when Marinette talked about her crush on Adrien, and in the back of her mind Marinette always wondered why.

"I mean," she huffed, shutting her eyes tightly, "that nothing is happening between me and Adrien and nothing ever will. I've had this dumb crush since 9th grade, and haven't made any progress at all. I should just give up."

"No!" Chat all but yelled, making Marinette's eyes fly open to stare at him in shock. Under her gaze, he blushed and scratched the back of his head. "I mean, don't give up. I've been crushing on Ladybug for years now, and nothing's happened between us, but I haven't given up hope."

"But that's different," Marinette blushed, knowing that he didn't know she was Ladybug, but still feeling uncomfortable talking about his feelings for her. "You and Ladybug actually interact. I've gone to school with Adrien for years and I still turn into a stuttering mess whenever we speak. How can I hope to be with someone I'm barely friends with?"

"Well if you don't talk to him, how do you know you like him? What if you just like the way he looks, just like everyone else?" Chat asked, his voice taking on a sincere tone that Marinette had never heard before.

Sighing, Marinette turned to look at the sketches of Adrien she'd made that were hanging on the cork board above her desk. "I don't just like his looks. If I did, I'd have fallen for him the first time I saw him, but I didn't. Adrien is so much more than meets the eye, and it's a shame that a lot of people don't realize that at first. He's incredibly smart, he's funny when he doesn't try to be, he's kind, he's caring, he's an incredible friend, he always does what's right no matter what. But the best thing about him is that he's content with any little thing he gets, any act of kindness towards him makes him the happiest person in the room. I love him."

Chat gasped from where he sat on Marinette's bed, and when she glanced at him he was giving her a wide eyed look. She didn't think anything of it, and instead smiled at him, feeling embarrassed for rambling so much.

"I guess the thing I like most about Adrien is how he makes me feel though. I'm always worried I'll mess something up or let someone down, but when Adrien is around I don't feel that way. He makes me feel like I'm enough. It's kind of hard to explain," Marinette chuckled in embarrassment, feeling her cheeks heat up at the confession. She looked down at the floor and continued speaking. "I just…the way I feel around him is so different and so strong that I'd convinced myself there was no way he couldn't feel it too. I kept making excuses for his distance or the times when our conversations would die off. But…"

Marinette shook her head, trying to hold in the tears that were forming in her eyes. She paused to gather herself, but even so, her voice shook when she spoke again. "But obviously I was wrong. I was stupid to have hope, especially for this long. He doesn't talk to me for long because he doesn't want to." A bitter chuckle escaped her lips as she thought back to all the memories she had of trying to force words out and Adrien just walking away.

"And even when he does talk to me, all he talks about is the girl he likes," Marinette continued, giving up on holding in her tears and lifting a hand to wipe them away before they fell too far. "The worst part is that the way he described her made her sound like me, so at first I thought he was trying to confess. Obviously he wasn't."

With heavy bitterness in her heart, Marinette wiped her eyes a final time before whirling back around to face her many sketches and pictures of Adrien. Something inside her snapped, hurt bubbling up over the surface, and she lunged forward, ripping the pictured from their pins and crumbling them in her hands.

"Marinette!" Chat yelled, jumping off her bed. He strode over to where he stood and grabbed her arms, gently pulling them back down to her sides even as she resisted him. "Marinette, stop this! Calm down, please."

The look Chat was giving her was so sincere that Marinette completely deflated. She slowly sat back down in her seat and wiped the remaining tears from her eyes. Chat squatted down in front of her, placing comforting hands on her knees.

"Don't give up on him," he spoke softly, but Marinette shook her head.

"No, I'm giving up. For real this time. He'll never like me back, it's been five years; what am I waiting for? A sign? Five years of nothing is enough of a sign. I mean, who could blame him? Who would want to be with a clumsy, stuttering, awkward mess of a girl like me?"

"I would," Chat said automatically, and both of them shared a wide eyed look for a moment.

"Yeah right!" Marinette finally said, looking away. "You have a crush on Ladybug – she's graceful and smooth and witty. I could never be that," _at least in front of Adrien_ , Marinette thought to herself.

"Yes you could! The only difference between you and Ladybug is that she's confident and you're not. Just be confident, Marinette. Adrien will come around, I promise."

Marinette stared down at the smile Chat was giving her with a scrutinizing gaze. He seemed so sure of his statement; he was more than trying to comfort her, he was actually promising her that Adrien would return her feelings eventually. But how could he know?

Although she wasn't sure, the words did enough to comfort and convince her. "Thank you, Chat Noir," Marinette said with a bright smile.

"You're welcome – " Chat cut himself off when Marinette cupped his face in her hands and leaned down to kiss his forehead.

"You know, you're a great friend, too," she said, giggling at his shocked and blushing face.

"Uh, thank you," he mumbled, still staring at her in shock. A beeping sound made him flinch, and both of them looked down to see his ring blinking.

"Oh, I guess it's time for you to go," Marinette said, for some reason feeling disappointed.

Chat stood and smiled, walking backwards towards her open window. "I suppose you're right. Can't have you knowing my true identity, I mean what if I end up being Adrien?"

At that Marinette laughed, following him over to the window. "As if. That's just too embarrassing to think about. Anyway, thanks again Chat Noir. See you tomorrow?"

Chat turned back to smile at Marinette as he climbed out her window. "Of course, Marinette. See you tomorrow."

* * *

Author's note: Yeah, so I joined the bandwagon. I had this idea and I wanted to write it to get it out of my head. Probably going to do an AdrienxMarinette part two to finish this sucker up. Also, a disclaimer, I know nothing about life in Paris. Therefore, this fic is going to be set in the lovely city of Philadelphia, located on the east coast of the United States. Don't know if the location will matter much, but just throwing that out there for cultural references and all that. I know some people take fanfictions very seriously and do research and fact check and all of that, and I think that's awesome. I am not, however, one of those people. I just write fanfictions for fun, for myself, and I don't see a point in doing research for it. Therefore, all my AUs take place in cities I am familiar with. I like that old rule, write what you know. Anyway, enjoy!


End file.
